First, a thousand thanks to the AMAOKC for having me moderate the 2015 Superbowl Showdown at the February meeting. I always LOVE doing it, and as I get older, my appreciation for being asked to do it escalates, yet I also know there’s gonna be a year when I’m too old or too irrelevant to be asked to do it. So, thanks!

I’m sure I’ll never be asked to sit on such a panel because over the years I’ve grown less and less enamored with the Super Bowl, (you can read more on that here), but this year actually wasn’t so bad.

The fact that we were actually treated to an exciting a football game being played for the world championship, which has almost become secondary on this occasion, was a nice bonus this year! I thought the game was an entertaining shootout rather than the typical disappointing blowout. So that made for good viewing.

As far as the ads, well, I thought we saw a lot less “marketing theater” than we’ve seen in years past. Some of the pundits who think ads during the Super Bowl are all supposed to be special effects spectaculars will likely be disappointed. So those who say we haven’t seen as many Super Bowl-caliber ads do indeed have a point, but I’m not so sure they’re being fair.

Consider the rave reviews the Radio Shack ads got last year. Remember the extremely clever, funny, 1980s-themed commercial was supposed to usher in a whole rebirth of their brand? I have to confess to both LOVING the commercial and hoping that was the spark that would rekindle their marketing fire. As you may be aware, Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy a few weeks ago. Granted, you can’t blame their downfall entirely on the ad campaign, but you can also bet that if they were doing better this year, there would be a line of creative-types that stretched around the block waiting to take full credit for the resurrection.

GOOD marketing is supposed to get RESULTS! And most often, the ads that are most effective in getting results are those that take the product’s benefit and dramatize that benefit or the value proposition the product offers.

How the brands featured in this year’s Super Bowl are faring this time next year will tell the real story!